1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to single serve beverage brewers, and is concerned in particular with the provision of a reusable beverage filter cartridge for use in such brewers.
2. The Prior Art
As disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,325,765 (Sylvan et al.); 5,840,189 (Sylvan et al.); and 6,082,247 (Beaulieu), it is known to employ disposable beverage filter cartridges that are pierced during the brewing cycle of single serve beverage brewers. Although such cartridges function in an entirely satisfactory and user friendly manner, the need to dispose of them after only a single use has raised concerns on the part of environmentalists.
An objective of the present invention is to deal with these concerns by providing a filter cartridge designed for reuse in successive brewing cycles.
A companion objective of the present invention is the realization cost savings resulting from the repeated rather than single use and disposal of cartridge units.
These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein: